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Right-wing radio and television host Glenn Beck, who has ranted against public education, is ready to dole out his own brand of private education. Beck University, which will offer online classes in faith, hope and charity starting today, also offers plenty of fodder for skepticism.

Wal-Mart, the largest company in the world, has had four CEOs, all of them public college alumni, and CEO No. 5, William Simon, continues that run: He's a graduate of the University of Connecticut. The point? You don't need to go to a big-name school to be a big-time success.

The for-profit education industry has grown rapidly for the past decade on the backs of the most vulnerable members of society. But now, with the Department of Education on track to clamp down on abuses, and the Senate planning hearings, it looks like the party may be ending.

The New York Times recently looked at the plight of Cortney Munna, a graduate of New York University struggling with nearly $100,000 in student loans, and asked: Should schools abet students in the process of financial self destruction, or should they follow a higher purpose?

Since George W. Bush gutted regulations on the for-profit education industry, it has experienced huge profit growth, while appalling percentages of its students drop out with no degrees and big debts. But if the government restores consumer protection regulations, look for those profits to plummet.

The nonprofit Center for Social Philanthropy reports that many institutions of higher learning were far from innocent victims of the economic downturn. Rather, risky endowment investing played a major role in the financial meltdown.

The University of Wisconsin canceled its licensing agreement with Nike, becoming the first university to take that step over concerns about the shoemaker's treatment of workers in Honduras. The school said Nike hasn't done enough to help workers collect severance payments they are owed.

If there's one thing college students hate more than going to class without a laptop or smartphone, it's paying full price for a $400 textbook they'll barely crack. But although the iPad will be pricey, it may usher a new age of digital textbook adoption to campus.